When is track and field

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Channel Canada Women's marathon replay p. Peacock CBC Finals p. Peacock CBC Men's marathon live 6 p. Channel Canada Men's marathon replay p. High jumpers typically cleared the bar feet first in the late 19th century, using either the Scissors , Eastern cut-off or Western roll technique. The straddle technique became prominent in the midth century, but Dick Fosbury overturned tradition by pioneering a backwards and head-first technique in the late s — the Fosbury Flop — which won him the gold at the Olympics.

This technique has become the overwhelming standard for the sport from the s onwards. The standing high jump was contested at the Olympics from to , but is now relatively uncommon outside of its use as an exercise drill. In terms of sport, the use of poles for vaulting distances was recorded in Fierljeppen contests in the Frisian area of Europe, and vaulting for height was seen at gymnastics competitions in Germany in the s.

One of the earliest recorded pole vault competitions was in Cumbria , England in The basic rules and technique of the event originated in the United States.

The rules required that athletes do not move their hands along the pole and athletes began clearing the bar with their feet first and twisting so that the stomach faces the bar. Bamboo poles were introduced in the 20th century and a metal box in the runway for planting the pole became standard.

Landing matresses were introduced in the midth century to protect the athletes who were clearing increasingly greater heights.

The modern event sees athletes run down a strip of track, plant the pole in the metal box, and vault over the horizontal bar before letting go of the pole and falling backwards onto the landing matress. While earlier versions used wooden, metal or bamboo, modern poles are generally made from artificial materials such as fibreglass or carbon fibre. The pole vault has been an Olympic event since for men, but it was over years later that the first women's world championship competition was held at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

The first women's Olympic pole vaulting competition occurred in The genesis of the shot put can be traced to pre-historic competitions with rocks: in the middle ages the stone put was known in Scotland and the steinstossen was recorded in Switzerland.

In the 17th century, cannonball throwing competitions within the English military provided a precursor to the modern sport. The modern rules were first laid out in and legal throws had to be taken within a square throwing area of seven feet 2. This was amended to a circle area with a seven foot diameter in and the weight of the shot was standardised to 16 pounds 7. Throwing technique was also refined over this period, with bent arm throws being banned as they were deemed too dangerous and the side-step and throw technique arising in the United States in The shot put has been an Olympic sport for men since and a women's competition using a 4 kg 8.

Further throwing techniques have arisen since the post-war era: in the s Parry O'Brien popularised the degree turn and throw technique commonly known as the "glide," breaking the world record 16 times along the way, while Aleksandr Baryshnikov and Brian Oldfield introduced the "spin" or rotational technique in As one of the events within the ancient pentathlon, the history of the discus throw dates back to BC.

This continued until the Intercalated Games in Athens, which featured both the ancient style and the increasingly popular modern style of turning and throwing.

By the Olympics, the ancient standing throw style had fallen into disuse and contests starting within a 2. The discus implement was standardised to 2 kg 4. The women's discus was among the first women's events on the Olympic programme, being introduced in Combined or multi-discipline events are competitions in which athletes participate in a number of track and field events, earning points for their performance in each events which goes towards a total points score.

Outdoors, the most common combined events are the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon. Due to stadium limitations, indoor combined events competition have a reduced number of events, resulting in the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon.

Athletes are allocated points based on an international-standard points scoring system, such as the decathlon scoring table. The Ancient Olympic pentathlon comprising long jump , javelin, discus, the stadion race and wrestling was a precursor to the track and field combined events and this ancient event was restored at the Summer Olympics Intercalated Games. A men's decathlon was held at the Summer Olympics , albeit contested between five American and two British athletes.

The term track and field is intertwined with the stadiums which first hosted track and field competitions. The two basic features of a track and field stadium are the outer oval-shaped running track and an area of turf within this track — the field.

In earlier competitions the lengths of the tracks varied: the Panathinaiko Stadium measured As the sport developed, the IAAF standardised the length to m and stated that the tracks must be split into six to eight running lanes. Precise widths for the lanes were established, as were regulations regarding the curvature of the track. Tracks made of flattened cinders were popular in the early 20th century but synthetic tracks became standard in the late s.

Many track and field stadiums are multi-purpose stadiums , with the running track surrounding a field which is built for other sports such as the various types of football. The field of the stadium combines a number of elements for use in the jumping and throwing events. The long jump and triple jump areas comprise a straight, narrow metre running track with a sandpit at one or both ends. Jumps are measured from a take off board — typically a small strip of wood with a plasticine marker attached — which is used to ensure athletes jump from behind the measurement line.

The pole vault area is also a metre running track and it has an indentation in the ground the box in which poles are planted. Athletes then propel themselves over a crossbar before falling onto a cushioned area of landing mats.

The high jump is a stripped down version of this, with an open area of track or field leading up to a crossbar with a square area of landing mats behind it.

The four throwing events generally all begin on one side of the stadium. The javelin throw typically takes place on a piece of track that is central and parallel to the straights of the main running track. The javelin throwing area is a sector shape frequently across the Pitch sports field in the middle of the stadium, ensuring that the javelin has a minimal chance of causing damage or injury.

The discus throw and hammer throw contests begin in a tall metal cage which is usually situated in one of the corners of the field. The cage reduces the danger of implements being thrown out of the field of play and throws will travel diagonally across the field in the centre of the stadium.

The shot put features a circular throwing area with a toe board at one end. The throwing area is a sector. Some stadia also have a water jump area on one side of the field specifically for steeplechase races. Basic indoor venues may be adapted gymnasiums , which can easily accommodate high jump competitions and short track events.

Full-size indoor arenas i. Typically, a central area is surrounded by a metre oval track with four to eight lanes. The track may be banked at the turns to allow athletes to run around the radius more comfortably. There is also a second running track going straight across the field area, parallel to the straights of the main circuit.

This track is used for the 60 metres and 60 metres hurdles events — competitions which are held almost exclusively indoors. Another common adaptation is a yard track 11 laps to a mile that fits into a common basketball court sized arena.

This was quite popular when races were held at imperial distances, which gradually was phased out by different organizations in the s and s.

All four of the common jumping events are held at indoor venues. The long and triple jump areas run alongside the central 60 m track and are mostly identical in form to their outdoor counterparts. The pole vault track and landing area are also alongside the central running track. Shot put or weight throw is the only throwing event held indoors due to size restrictions. The throwing area is similar to the outdoor event, but the landing sector is a rectangular section surrounded by netting or a stop barrier.

The rules of track athletics or of track events in athletics as observed in most international athletics competitions are set by the Competition Rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations IAAF. The most recent complete set of rules is the rules that relate only to competitions in Key rules of track events are those regarding starting, running and finishing. The start of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide.

In all races that are not run in lanes the start line must be curved, so that all the athletes start the same distance from the finish. Starting blocks may be used for all races up to and including m including the first leg of the 4 x m and 4 x m and may not be used for any other race. No part of the starting block may overlap the start line or extend into another lane.

An athlete may not touch either the start line or the ground in front of it with his or her hands or feet when on his or her marks. At most international competitions the commands of the starter in his or her own language, in English or in French, shall, in races up to and including m , be "On your marks" and "Set".

When all athletes are "set", the gun must be fired, or an approved starting apparatus must be activated. However, if the starter is not satisfied that all is ready to proceed, the athletes may be called out of the blocks and the process started over.

False start: An athlete, after assuming a final set position, may not commence his starting motion until after receiving the report of the gun, or approved starting apparatus. If, in the judgment of the starter or recallers, he does so any earlier, it is considered a false start. It is deemed a false start if, in the judgment of the starter an athlete fails to comply with the commands "on your marks" or "set" as appropriate after a reasonable time; or an athlete after the command "on your marks" disturbs other athletes in the race through sound or otherwise.

If the runner is in the "set" position and moves, then the runner is also disqualified. As of , any athlete making a false start is disqualified. This rule was already in place in high school and college. In International Elite competition, electronically tethered starting blocks sense the reaction time of the athletes. If the athlete reacts in less than 0. In all races run in lanes, each athlete must keep within his allocated lane from start to finish.

This also applies to any portion of a race run in lanes. Also, any athlete who jostles or obstructs another athlete, in a way that impedes his progress, should be disqualified from that event. However, if an athlete is pushed or forced by another person to run outside his lane, and if no material advantage is gained, the athlete should not be disqualified. There are races that start in lanes and then at a "break" line, the competitors merge.

Examples of this are the metres, 4x relay and the indoor metres. Variations on this, with alleys made up of multiple lanes on the track, are used to start large fields of distance runners. The finish of a race is marked by a white line 5 cm wide.

The athletes must be placed in the order in which any part of their torso as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet reaches the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish line.

Fully automatic timing systems photo timing are becoming more and more common at increasingly lower levels of track meets, improving the accuracy, while eliminating the need for eagle-eyed officials on the finish line. Fully automatic timing FAT is required for high level meets and any time a sprint record is set though distance records can be accepted if timed by three independent stopwatches.

With the accuracy of the timing systems, ties are rare. Ties between different athletes are resolved as follows: In determining whether there has been a tie in any round for a qualifying position for the next round based on time, a judge called the chief photo finish judge must consider the actual time recorded by the athletes to one thousandth of a second.

If the judge decides that there has been a tie, the tying athletes must be placed in the next round or, if that is not practicable, lots must be drawn to determine who must be placed in the next round.

In the case of a tie for first place in any final, the referee decides whether it is practicable to arrange for the athletes so tying to compete again. If he decides it is not, the result will stand. Ties in other placings remain. In general, most field events allow a competitor to take their attempt individually, under theoretically the same conditions as the other competitors in the competition.

Each attempt is measured to determine who achieved the longest distance. Vertical jumps High Jump and Pole Vault set a bar at a particular height. The competitor must clear the bar without knocking it off the standards that are holding the bar flat. Three failures in a row will end the competitor's participation in the event.

The competitor has the option to PASS their attempt, which can be used to strategic advantage of course that advantage is lost if the competitor misses.

A pass could be used to save energy and avoid taking a jump that would not improve their position in the standings. After all competitors have either cleared, passed or failed their attempts at a height, the bar will go up. The amount the bar goes up is predetermined before the competition, though when one competitor remains, that competitor may choose their own heights for the remaining attempts. There may be six to eight lanes, with each lane usually measuring 1.

The winner in each race is the runner whose torso first breaks the vertical plane of the finish line. Races are timed either by mechanical watches or by more sophisticated, electronic photo-timers that can measure finishes to the hundredth of a second. Sometimes, owing to the number of contestants in a competition, qualifying rounds, or heats, are held to narrow the contestants down to the fastest runners. Athletes in the field events also have qualifying rounds.

In the horizontal jumps and throws athletes are allowed three preliminary attempts if the field numbers more than eight participants. Then the best performers are allowed three more attempts. In the vertical jumps the high jump — and pole vault — the participants are allowed to continue until they have three successive failures.

If two or more contestants tie, the competitor with the fewest failures at the last height cleared is the winner; if still tied, the total number of failures is the deciding factor; if a tie remains, the total number of jumps is considered. Scoring differs according to the meet. Many national competitions are scored on the basis of 10 points for first place, 8 for second, on down to 1 point for sixth.

In international meets, the scoring is 5 for first place, 3 for second, 2 for third, and 1 for fourth. The team with the highest total wins. For road races, cross-country meets, and walking competitions, the winner is given 1 point, the second-place finisher 2 points, and so on; the finish positions are totaled, and the team with the lowest score is the winner.

Track Events The sprints are all-out efforts over the entire distance run. Outdoors the sprints are — yd Indoor sprints are often as short as 50 yd Sprinters use a crouch start in which, after being commanded to get "on your marks" by the starter, the contestant kneels with one knee on the ground and both hands resting behind the starting line. On the "get set" command, the sprinter raises the knee from the ground in anticipation of the gun.

When it fires, the runner will accelerate as quickly as possible from the starting line. To facilitate a quick start by giving the runner something to push off against, devices known as starting blocks are used. In the longer sprints — m and yd, m and yd — the races are run in assigned lanes for the entire circumference of the track.

To ensure fairness for all participants, the start is staggered so that runners farther out from the inside lane start farther ahead of the contestants to their left, who have a smaller circumference to run around; as a result all runners travel the same distance. The middle distance races range from to 2, m Such is the popularity of the mile that it is the only event of English measure still recognized by the IAAF for record purposes.

While the yd In the middle distances, fatigue becomes an increasingly important factor, requiring the competitors to pace themselves so that they can finish the race in the shortest possible time; or, if the race is a tactical one, to be able to summon a sprint at the end in order to defeat the other contestants.

The long distances range from 3, to 30, m 1. Also recognized by the IAAF is the one-hour run, in which the participants run as far as they can within one hour's time. As with the middle distances the longer the race the less decisive is the inherent speed of the various competitors. Rather, the endurance fitness of the athletes and their use of various strategies play a more important role.

A distance runner with less natural speed than his or her rivals may speed up the pace in the middle of a race in order to break away from and thus disconcert the other runners. Besides the distance races on the track, which usually are no farther than 10, m 6. Because of the varying venues and conditions, no world records are kept by the IAAF for these road races. Similarly, no records are kept for cross-country races, which, at the international level, are often 12, m 7.

Perhaps the most unusual of the distance track events is the 3,m 1. Race walking is fast walking with the stipulation that the walker must maintain unbroken contact with the ground and lock the knee for an instant while the foot is on the ground.

The hurdle races require an athlete to possess the speed of a sprinter and the ability to clear 10 barriers In the United States, equivalent distances of yd Women race over m and 8 barriers 84 cm 33 in high.

In both men's and women's races, no penalty is assessed for knocking down hurdles, unless done deliberately with the hand. The rear leg or foot may not trail alongside the hurdle, but must be drawn over the top. In the relay races teams of four athletes run separate distances, or legs. They exchange a hollow tube called a baton within designated exchange zones.